Date: June 21, 2018
Time: 12:15-1:45PM
Location: 519 Kaneff Tower at York University

Summary:

As the longer history of murders of trans women and cis-men in and around the Church-Wellesley village, many of whom were people of colour, hits the mainstream news, these questions once again arise: Whose lives are worth missing? Whose disappearances from spaces imagined as gay or LGBT are worth reporting and investigating? How are notions of innocence and violence, and horizons of redress and transformation, complicated when the perpetrator is both a gay man associated with the degenerate/regenerating urban space of the “gay village,” and a white cis-man whom dominant voices in the village, and to some extent the media and police, register as “one of us”? And how do our activist scholarly practices of archiving, curating and programming serve to unmap or reinscribe these practices?

This talk draws on the work of the Marvellous Grounds collective (Choi ed 2017, Haritaworn, Moussa, Ware and Rodriguez forthcoming, Haritaworn, Moussa and Ware forthcoming, Kaur Panag and Rodriguez eds 2016), a queer and trans Black, Indigenous and people of colour mapping and archiving project coming out of York University. In this archive, the successful territorialization of the “gay village” becomes apparent as an effect of a carceral city that is not only neoliberal, but also racial and colonial, and that treats low-income trans women of colour in particular as excessive. To queer urban justice in a lethal environment that is fluent in the languages of diversity, and to prefigure futures that go beyond these murderous inclusions, means to remember differently, and to step into the unfinished legacies of those who are rarely missed, and whose removal has been constitutive of urban and academic spaces designated “gay,” “LGBT” and, increasingly, “trans”.

Jin Haritaworn is Associate Professor of Gender, Race and Environment at York University. Their publications include two books, numerous articles (in journals such as GLQ and Society&Space), and several co/edited collections (including Queer Necropolitics and Queering Urban Justice). Their book, Queer Lovers and Hateful Others: Regenerating Violent Times and Places (Pluto 2015), on queer Berlin, addresses both academic and non-academic readerships interested in queer of colour spaces and communities. Jin has keynoted in several fields on both sides of the Atlantic, including gender, sexuality and transgender studies, critical race and ethnic studies, and urban studies, and has made foundational contributions to various debates, including on gay imperialism, homonationalism, queer gentrification and criminalization, and trans and queer of colour space.

Co-sponsors: Department of Social Justice in Education at OISE, UofT; York University CUPE 3903 Trans Caucus, Department of Politics, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Graduate Women's Studies Student Association, Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SexGen York, Sexuality Studies, York Accessibility Fund, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, & the Centre for Feminist Research.

This event is part of the TRANS MATTERS Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Graduate Student Conference, organized by the Centre for Feminist Research.

Date: June 22, 2018
Time: 11AM-12:30PM
Location: 519 Kaneff Tower at York University

Summary:

Holy Wild is a critical reflection on the embodied experience of Indigenous Queer and Trans subjects. Drawing on critical Indigenous and Trans scholarship, Holy Wild explores the contradictions, complexities, and impossibilities of being Indigenous, Trans, and Queer. Benaway argues that mainstream Western Queerness is an extension of the colonial project, rooted in colonial thought and transmisogyny. Liberation for Indigenous and Trans subjects cannot arise from Queerness without a sustained engagement with the colonial past as well as the sexual economies of Queer desire. Using Indigenous storytelling and worldview, Benaway interrogates the ways that Queerness does not hold Indigenous and trans experiences in their fullness. Holy Wild is a theoretical rupture of generative resistance. Unwilling to perform apology nor productiveness, this talk is intended to challenge the non-Indigenous Queer subject to a dialogue with their colonial depression.

Speaker bio:

Gwen Benaway is a trans girl poet of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. She has published two collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage, and her third collection, Holy Wild, is forthcoming from BookThug in 2018. She has been described as the spiritual love child of Tomson Highway and Anne Sexton. She has received many distinctions and awards, including the Dayne Ogilvie Honour of Distinction for Emerging Queer Authors from the Writer's Trust of Canada. Her poetry and essays have been published in national publications and anthologies, including The Globe and Mail, Maclean's Magazine, CBC Arts, and many others.

Co-sponsors: Department of Social Justice in Education at OISE, UofT; York University CUPE 3903 Trans Caucus, Department of Politics, Department of Social Science, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Environmental Studies, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Graduate Women's Studies Student Association, Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, SexGen York, Sexuality Studies, York Accessibility Fund, Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, & the Centre for Feminist Research.

This event is part of the TRANS MATTERS Interdisciplinary Trans Studies Graduate Student Conference, organized by the Centre for Feminist Research.

Tasks will include: (1) compiling a biweekly newsletter of internal and external feminist events and conferences, calls for proposals, and job opportunities; (2) outreach and event dissemination via internal networks within the Centre and York University, as well as to external networks, through social media and the Centre website and Facebook page; (3) logistical support to CFR events; and (4) development of the 2017-18 CFR Annual Newsletter.

The student will have an opportunity to meet and engage with feminist faculty, community activists, and other students. The work will be done under the supervision of the Coordinator of the Centre for Feminist Research.

Job application process:

1) Please make sure you are eligible for a Work/Study position by filling out the Student Financial Profile for SU2018 at the following link: http://sfs.yorku.ca/aid/sfp/2) Please submit your completed application via the Career Centre website. Job ID #109768

-----COMMUNITY-----

EVENTS:

Understanding Islamophobia, Injuries, and Violence at Work (April 28th/18)

Following a spoken-poetry piece performed by activist Shadiya Aidid to commemorate the workers who have passed, we will hold a panel discussion about the grassroots campaigns that are currently underway to make work safer. Community and labour groups are demanding safe, healthy workplaces for all, with adequate support and compensation for those made ill or injured on the job. Workplaces must be free from harassment, discrimination and Islamophobia. It is also time to hold bad bosses accountable through stronger law enforcement. Light refreshments will be provided.

Islamic Information & Dawah Centre is one of the first prayer centers established in Toronto, right on the Bloor line. The mosque has a great history of education, outreach and actively engages with the community in Bloor West.

Prepare yourself for the world of work!
-Identify personal strengths and understand how to leverage them in today’s workplace
-Learn about disclosure, accommodation and non-traditional job search and work environments

Monday, April 30, 2018
University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail

Rebecca Elmhirst is a leading feminist political ecologist and human geographer with two decades of research and teaching experience on struggles over environmental governance, migration and social justice in the Global South. Her work explores new ways to rethink feminist political ecology by linking theories associated with ‘material feminisms’ to empirical work on mobility, environmental change and gender in Southeast Asia.

All are welcome!

This event is presented as part of the Ecologies on the Edge programme by the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and the York Centre for Asian Research and the Graduate Programme in Geography at York University.

Why does a Development Practitioner Needs to Know Feminist Economics? Webinar (May 2nd/18)

The UN Women Training Centre is pleased to invite you to an open-access webinar on the basic notions of feminist economics, and their importance to achieve gender equality. This will also act as an introduction to the Gender and Economics face-to-face training that will be delivered jointly with the UN Women Economic Empowerment section of UN Women.

The webinar panelists are Yelda Yücel and Özge İzdeş, professors of economics and gender experts; and also Clemencia Muñoz-Tamayo from the UN Women Training Centre. It will take place on Wednesday 2 May 2018 at 9 am New York time.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018
2:00pm–4:00pm
Qualitative Research & Resource Centre (N141 Ross)
York University (In case the strike is ongoing, a possible location change will be announced.)

With the rise of authoritarianism in Turkey, the Turkish state has intensified its control over information and communications technologies over the last decade. Increasingly, the AKP government perceives the internet, particularly social media platforms, as a threat to its rule and thus a target of censorship and control on many levels. Various policies, strategies, and techniques have been used to this effect, including restricting or denying access, content filtering, monitoring and manipulating online behaviour through government-sponsored online trolls, online spying, arresting and imprisoning citizens based on their social media posts, as well leveraging social media platforms to the government’s advantage. At the same time, the Turkish state has encountered many forms of resistance, with progressive actors and communities developing ways to bypass online censorship. Given this context, the panel brings together members of Academics for Peace in order to shed light on the digital repertoire of control, criminalization, contention, and hacktivism present under authoritarian regimes in general, and the case of Turkey, specifically.

Sponsored by the Department of Sociology’s Qualitative Research & Resource Centre and the York Research Chair in Global Digital Citizenship (Fuyuki Kurasawa)

White Privilege Conference – Global (May 9th-12th/18)

Ryerson University’s Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion is very pleased to bring the White Privilege Conference (WPC) Global - Toronto, and the important conversations it encourages to Canada for the first time. It will be taking place from May 9-12, 2018.

There will be two components that will address disability, race and intersectionality: a full-day pre-conference institute session, as well as a 90-minute workshop scheduled during the main part of the conference. Historically this conference has drawn significant attendance from all segments of society, including students, teachers, university faculty and higher education professionals, non-profit staff, activists, social workers, and members of the corporate world. WPC Global - Toronto invites diverse perspectives to provide a comprehensive look at issues of privilege beyond skin colour, including race, gender, sexuality, class, religion and ability.

CALLS:

The Harriet Tubman Institute at York University and the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University (NYU) present the 9th Annual Summer Institute: “New Geographies: Africa and African Diasporas.” This year the Institute will be held at NYU from 6 - 10 August, 2018. Researchers will offer panels, roundtable discussions, and plenary sessions that probe the political and cultural geographies and social practices that define Africa and African Diasporas. Questions to be interrogated include: How do we define African Diasporas, internal and external? How do historical, contemporary and cultural narratives reflect and/or shape our understanding of the experiences of persons of African descent? How do media and technology foster or inhibit diasporic linkages? We encourage papers from a wide range of academic disciplines and methodological backgrounds related to the diverse ways peoples of African diasporas have built social institutions, transformed societies, pioneered forms of communication and forged ritual practices.

Applicants will be contacted with the results of their applications in early June.
Accepted applicants will be informed about the procedures for registration, including fees.
Accepted international applicants can apply for a limited number of bursaries.
Registration/administrative fees: $100US (inquire about discount for participants from Africa & Global South).
A programme of cultural activities and field trips will be announced.
Please direct any additional questions to SI2018NY@gmail.com.

Call for Papers: Women in Sports Media: New Scholarly Engagements (Deadline: April 30th/18)

FEMINIST MEDIA STUDIES

Commentary and Criticism Call for Papers

18.5 Women in Sports Media: New Scholarly Engagements

Feminist analysis of sports media has long been concerned with three overarching representational critiques: the underrepresentation of women’s sports, the objectification of women’s sporting bodies, and the trivialization of women athletes. While empirical research on women’s sports affirm that these assessments retain their currency, there has been less scholarly attention in feminist media studies on representations that frame, constrain, or bolster women in sports in other ways or on issues beyond representation impacting women in sports media. This issue of Commentary and Criticism invites essay contributions specifically on new scholarly engagements with the representation of women athletes along with questions that grapple with women’s sports beyond representation. The aim of the issue is to push the analysis beyond the longstanding representational critiques to examine other discourses and contexts impacting women in sporting spaces. We are particularly interested in submissions from beyond North America and the UK and in projects that adopt an intersectional lens to the study of women’s experiences in sports.

Possible paper topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Mediated responses to issues of labor and pay inequality in women’s sports
Media coverage of women’s sports’ unions
Articulations of the #metoo and #timesup social media movements in sports
Women’s sports media activism and #blacklivesmatter
Jemele Hill and the cultural politics of Blackness in sports media
The visibility of women athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics
Framing Muslim athletes in the hijab
Mediations of inclusivity and exclusivity discourse surrounding trans athletes
Representations of pregnancy and athleticism
Popular feminism and women’s sporting empowerment
Women working in sports media industries
Women in sports fandom

The Commentary and Criticism section of Feminist Media Studies aims to publish brief (~1000 words), timely responses to current issues in feminist media culture, for an international readership. Submissions may pose a provocation, describe work in progress, or propose areas for future study. We will also consider book and event reviews, as well as contributions that depart from traditional academic formats. We encourage all submissions to strategically mobilize critique to also offer a productive contribution to both feminist politics and media studies. Submissions must go beyond mere description in order to be considered for publication in Commentary and Criticism.

Please submit contributions by 30th April, 2018 via email to Dr. Jennifer McClearen at jennifer.mcclearen@utexas.edu. Questions and expressions of interest can also be addressed to Dr. McClearen in advance of the deadline.

Email submissions directly to Dr. McClearen, as submissions for Commentary and Criticism will not be correctly processed if submitted through the main Feminist Media Studies site.

On the verge of death, the survivors of the Franklin expedition offer a chilling prospect for the Inuit who encounter them. Unfamiliar with the bodies and behaviours of the qallunaat (white men), the Inuit look upon the walking corpses and must determine the line between death and life, between human and spirit—this determination has profound implications for the Inuits’ (and qallunaats’) biological and social security, as well as for their understanding of their ever-widening world, what constitutes humanity, and the ethical treatment of others. Meanwhile, the survivors, who eventually succumb to disease, starvation, exposure, and cultural ignorance, are brought to their ends by virtue of their involvement in the capitalist and imperialist search for the Northwest Passage. Here, death is a meeting place of cultures, bodies, and our various ways of making sense of it.

Death is, of course, central to our understanding of life, and its reality seeps into many areas of human knowledge: how can we, from our various perspectives, make sense of death? How do we grieve individually, as a society? What is the future of death and our ever-constant pursuit for immortality? What technologies enable us to deny death? How is death weaponized within systems of (racial, sexist, ableist, classist) oppression? What is the role of the undead in cultural expression? When are we haunted by history? How do we live on a dying planet? How do we contend with undead materials (like plastic)? How does death feed into cycles of life and re-growth? How do we use death, destruction, and decomposition as a metaphor (for example, for social change)? We encourage thoughtful engagement with these questions, as well as other responses to death in literature, the arts, history, popular culture, politics, science, technology, environmental studies, and the everyday.

The Dalhousie Association of Graduate Students in English (DAGSE) invites submissions of paper presentations for “De/Composing Death: An Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference.” We welcome proposals from students at all levels and in all areas of graduate study. We encourage proposals from marginalized voices and prospective presenters are welcome to self-identify in their proposals. This three-day conference will be held August 10th to 12th, 2018 at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and will investigate past and contemporary responses to and understandings of death – its process, significance, and representation. Childcare will be provided upon request.

We invite proposals for papers (15-20 minutes) on themes and subjects including, but not limited to:

Call for Proposals- Unsettling Colonialism in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: A Reader (Deadline: June 30th/18)

Unsettling Colonialism in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: A Reader

Call for Proposals

Colonialism has been a recurrent and widespread feature throughout human history. By the 1930s, European colonies and ex-colonies covered almost 85% per cent of the land surface of the globe. In settler colonial nations, the wide scale restructuring of local economies and governance was largely achieved through violent land dispossession and legitimated through European laws, policing, segregation and containment. Despite colonialism’s pervasive and violent reordering and the role of justice in its wake, settler colonialism is often given peripheral if any consideration in current criminal justice analysis. In an attempt to move beyond the “legacy” or “effects” of colonialism, this is a call for abstract paper proposals for an edited book collection entitled Unsettling Colonialism in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: A Reader. This edited collection will provide an understanding into the ongoing relations that exist between settler colonialism and the criminal justice system today.

Themes can vary widely but should address the security function / criminal justice system as continuation, extension or intensification of settler colonialism in Canada. This can include social, racial, feminist, legal, restorative, criminal, environmental, or other justice perspectives from an anti-colonial lens. As part of this edited collection, writings from Indigenous prisoners have been collected and will be included.

Editors: Vicki Chartrand & Josephine Savarese
Submission Deadline: June 30, 2018
Submission Guidelines: Abstracts should include a 250-word description of the proposed paper with a tentative title, followed by a one to two sentence biography, affiliation, and contact information of each author.
Email Submissions: Vicki Chartrand Vicki.Chartrand@ubishops.ca

Call for submissions - “Trauma: Who Cares?” (Deadline: July 31st/18)

Trauma: Who Cares? Canadian Women Speak Out

The assertion, “Me too,” is an act of courage. Experiences of childhood and adult sexual, physical and emotional trauma are common across generations of Canadians, irrespective of race, gender, social class. In Judy Rebick’s new book, Heroes in My Head, she writes, “Childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a family member is much more widespread than we are led to believe.”

Who dares to speak out about their experiences? How are Canadian health care providers and institutions equipped to respond? The resounding response is, “We don’t do trauma.”

How many little girls have been dismissed or silenced or told to "get over it" when they approach others to report sexual offenses perpetrated by brothers, fathers, uncles? How many women with histories of abuse have been stigmatized or labelled with personality disorders, rather than provided with therapy and legal assistance?

This is a call for women to share their stories about the institutionalized barriers and inequalities to accessing care for trauma, our biases and blind spots, our challenges as the providers and recipients of trauma-informed health care.

Please note that this is NOT a forum to disclose personal information in an effort to ask for help, to seek medical or legal assistance or to disclose information about others. We are looking for poetry, prose, essays, materials that can be printed in as a compilation about care for trauma in Canada.

This research project examines the role of the social economy–comprised of community organizations and socially conscientious businesses that support societal well-being–among African Canadians and racialized people in the GTA, London and Oshawa. The project will document how racialized people, especially women, are excluded from economic development programs (e.g., those created to support Impact Ontario) and how people cope with exclusion by relying on local social economies. Empirical evidence derived through community-based research will be mobilized to influence policy discussions about how the province can more equitably support social innovation that benefits racialized minorities, and to develop narratives that demonstrate the economic ingenuity of marginalized people. This project will also shed light on small businesses owned by diaspora Canadians that are making a difference in society, and the role they play in the field of social economics.

This project represents a significant advance in research on self-help groups, small businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises in Toronto, Oshawa, Richmond Hill and London - all locations that have sizable African-Canadian and immigrant communities. I have substantial non-academic work experience in the social enterprise sector for large bi-lateral and non-profit agencies which will assist me in the execution of this project. I feel that I am amply qualified both as an academic and former practitioner to move this project toward public policy outcomes. The central premise of the project is that long-overlooked self-help groups focused on the collective, reciprocity and community-based models (e.g. cooperatives, self-help groups and social enterprises) have socially innovative lessons in community economic development.

Objectives

To understand the factors that contribute to the engagement of African-Canadians and other racialized Canadians in the social economy (including the small business sector) in Ontario;
To determine what investments go into self-help groups, cooperatives, social enterprises and diaspora businesses to build assets and create access to finance for racially marginalized Ontarians; and
To build knowledge-sharing between cooperatives, self-help groups, social enterprises, diaspora small businesses and community experts, policy-makers and academics focused on the Black and racialized experience.

The proposed research in the GTA and London will deepen and expand the current empirical research into other Ontario communities, and will enable my research team to meet more African-Canadians to understand broadly how cooperatives, self-help groups, diaspora small businesses and social enterprises help these communities and individuals counteract business exclusion. Little is known about the African-Canadian experience in the social economy, and this is glaringly apparent in the low level of disbursement of funds towards social innovation projects occurring among Black Ontarians. To build a fair and equitable Ontario, research is needed to expand our knowledge about these institutions. Therein lies the main question: Can self-help groups, cooperatives, small diaspora-run businesses and social enterprises run by racially marginalized people make both the society and business sectors more inclusive? Scientists Pickett and Wilkinson (2011) seem to think that cooperatives and self-help groups build greater equality in societies. And Karl Polanyi (1944) found that a ‘double movement’ emerges when people oppose extreme forms of capitalism, and they will push for markets that are mindful of the social life. Having inclusive markets aligns with what the province wishes to do with its investments in the social enterprise sector, so the proposed research stands to be very instructive. And now that we know this how does the province spend its money to support such diverse community economies?

The students will receive training in human ethics, qualitative methods, data entry from the PI. The PI will be very engaged with the students and assist them with the Interview tool and mentor them along the way. Name of the supervising full-time faculty member: Caroline Hossein, Associate Professor in Business & Society, LA&PS.

Qualifications

Undergraduate students, in 3rd of 4th year, consideration for exceptional 2nd year students

MUST have a high GPA

Excellent writing and speaking skills

Superb ability to analyze ideas, critical thinking

Ready to travel across GTA

Knowledge of small business and minority-small businesses in GTA

Ability to do interviews

Committed to social justice ideas

York University- Research Assistant- Case Studies/Social Economy (Deadline: April 25th/18)

This research project examines the role of the social economy–comprised of community organizations and socially conscientious businesses that support societal well-being–among African Canadians and racialized people in the GTA, London and Oshawa. The project will document how racialized people, especially women, are excluded from economic development programs (e.g., those created to support Impact Ontario) and how people cope with exclusion by relying on local social economies. Empirical evidence derived through community-based research will be mobilized to influence policy discussions about how the province can more equitably support social innovation that benefits racialized minorities, and to develop narratives that demonstrate the economic ingenuity of marginalized people. This project will also shed light on small businesses owned by diaspora Canadians that are making a difference in society, and the role they play in the field of social economics.

This project represents a significant advance in research on self-help groups, small businesses, cooperatives and social enterprises in Toronto, Oshawa, Richmond Hill and London - all locations that have sizable African-Canadian and immigrant communities. I have substantial non-academic work experience in the social enterprise sector for large bi-lateral and non-profit agencies which will assist me in the execution of this project. I feel that I am amply qualified both as an academic and former practitioner to move this project toward public policy outcomes. The central premise of the project is that long-overlooked self-help groups focused on the collective, reciprocity and community-based models (e.g. cooperatives, self-help groups and social enterprises) have socially innovative lessons in community economic development.

Objectives

To understand the factors that contribute to the engagement of African-Canadians and other racialized Canadians in the social economy (including the small business sector) in Ontario;
To determine what investments go into self-help groups, cooperatives, social enterprises and diaspora businesses to build assets and create access to finance for racially marginalized Ontarians; and
To build knowledge-sharing between cooperatives, self-help groups, social enterprises, diaspora small businesses and community experts, policy-makers and academics focused on the Black and racialized experience.

The proposed research in the GTA and London will deepen and expand the current empirical research into other Ontario communities, and will enable my research team to meet more African-Canadians to understand broadly how cooperatives, self-help groups, diaspora small businesses and social enterprises help these communities and individuals counteract business exclusion. Little is known about the African-Canadian experience in the social economy, and this is glaringly apparent in the low level of disbursement of funds towards social innovation projects occurring among Black Ontarians. To build a fair and equitable Ontario, research is needed to expand our knowledge about these institutions. Therein lies the main question: Can self-help groups, cooperatives, small diaspora-run businesses and social enterprises run by racially marginalized people make both the society and business sectors more inclusive? Scientists Pickett and Wilkinson (2011) seem to think that cooperatives and self-help groups build greater equality in societies. And Karl Polanyi (1944) found that a ‘double movement’ emerges when people oppose extreme forms of capitalism, and they will push for markets that are mindful of the social life. Having inclusive markets aligns with what the province wishes to do with its investments in the social enterprise sector, so the proposed research stands to be very instructive. And now that we know this how does the province spend its money to support such diverse community economies?

The students will receive training in human ethics, qualitative methods, data entry from the PI. The PI will be very engaged with the students and assist them with the Interview tool and mentor them along the way. Name of the supervising full-time faculty member: Caroline Hossein, Associate Professor in Business & Society, LA&PS.

Qualifications

Undergraduate students in 3rd or 4th year of study; exceptional 2nd year students will be considered

Must have a strong GPA

Excellent speaking, writing and organization skills

Familiarity of doing case studies

Some prior knowledge of non-profits, small businesses, social enterprises and coops

Able to travel throughout the GTA and to work daytime hours

Active on social media

Critical thinking and commitment to social and economic justice is required

APUS is hiring two student Information Clerks (Deadline: April 25th/18)

APUS is a not-for-profit organization that represents between 6,000 – 14,000 part-time undergraduate students across all three campuses of the University of Toronto. We provide members with a range of cost-saving services, advocacy, as well as events and programming. We endeavour to improve the parttime student experience. APUS is a member local of the Canadian Federation of Students. We are currently seeking students for two Information Clerk positions starting in May 2018. These positions are unionized with CUPE 1281. Only current part-time undergraduate students at the University of Toronto are eligible for this position.

Assist students with photocopying/printing and other office services in conjunction with the Member Services Coordinator

Provide clerical support with direction of the Executive Director

Basic administrative duties under the supervision of the Executive Director, including but not limited to filing, customer service, disseminating information about APUS and university services, and the services provided by the Canadian Federation of Students

Ensure the creation and maintenance of a friendly, safe and inclusive office environment

Support APUS initiatives as required such as assisting with events – set up, clean-up, distributing flyers, tabling, speaking about APUS services where possible

Work on and complete large group assignments in an equitable and timely manner, including but not limited to professor mail outs

Represent APUS at campus events, and do tabling and class speaks as directed by the Executive Director

Ensure all monies collected through photocopying are documented and delivered to the APUS administrative office with accompanying documentation

Contact service repairs for office equipment where necessary after reporting to Executive Director

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office is hiring two (2) Programming & Events Assistants for the 2018 summer session. The Work Study positions are open to all registered undergraduate and graduate students (i.e. domestic and international students, and students studying on a part-time basis) with at least a 40% course load continuously from May to August (for full eligibility criteria, go to: https://cln.utoronto.ca/staff-faculty/overview/wspublic.htm).

Eligible students are able to work a maximum of 15 hours per week, up to a total of 100 hours from May 7th – August 10th, 2018. Only candidates who are selected for interviews will be contacted.

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) is the University of Toronto’s tri-campus resource for LGBTQ+ communities and information. As a part of the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office, you will work with students and staff members and play an active role in our summer programming and Office initiatives. This is a really great opportunity to gain skills in project management and event administration by working on LGBTQ+ and equity initiatives at the University of Toronto. This position will have a particular focus on:

U of T Pride
U of T Pride Pub
East Side Pride
Lead with Pride: Executive Jumpstart Conference
Program & event planning for the 2018 – 2019 academic year
Other events, leadership development opportunities, and office work as needed

Applications are due Friday April 27, 2018 at 12:00 pm (noon). Please attach a cover letter with your résumé, outlining relevant experiences and why you want to work with the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office in this role.

Qualifications:

An engaged student who is passionate about LGBTQ issues
Work or volunteer experience in at least one of the following:
Event organizing
Student and university community outreach and promotions
Meeting facilitation
Note-taking/minute-taking
Ability to work independently as well as on teams and committees
An interest in expanding personal knowledge of sexual and gender diversity issues at U of T An active contributor to address the needs of our communities through outreach and programming
Some weekend and evening shifts are required
Student must be available to work on June 8, June 22, June 23, and June 24

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office is committed to prioritizing U of T’s equity principles in all aspects of our programming and services. We encourage students to apply for this position who will assist in expanding and diversifying LGBTQ+ student involvement at U of T. The Programming & Events Assistant will be a part of our team from May 7, 2018 to August 10, 2018 at $14.00 per hour + 4% vacation pay.

The Office of Health Professions Student Affairs is hiring two Residence Dons to supervise and hold activities for Indigenous high school students that will live in New College student residence for the duration of the Summer Mentorship Program

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Ike.okafor@utoronto.ca by April 27. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Experience: Incumbent should have experience working in a residence don or youth program leadership capacity (including summer camps or recreational leagues) and comfortable in a disciplinary role. Previous experience or familiarity working with Indigenous communities, or organizations, or in an Indigenous studies program is an asset.

OPIRG York Hiring Volunteer and Programming Coordinator (Deadline: April 30th/18)

OPIRG York, the Ontario Public Interest Group at York University, a student based social justice, environmental education and action organization is seeking a full time, permanent Volunteer and Programming Coordinator.

OPIRG welcomes the contributions that individuals from marginalized communities bring to our organization, and invites indigenous people, people of colour, poor and working class people and those on social assistance, women, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer folks; transgender, transsexual, intersex and two-spirit people; single parents, members of ethnic minorities, immigrants, people from non-academic backgrounds and people with disabilities to apply.

Reporting to the Director of Communications and the Director of Fundraising and Operations, the Web and IT Coordinator will support the day-to-day technical operations of the organization and the upkeep and development of Action Canada’s websites and online presence in line with the organization’s strategic and programmatic goals.

Statement of Qualifications

Degree in a related field; advanced degree considered an asset.
Minimum of 2 years IT and web related experience.
Experience working for a nonprofit organization considered an asset.
Experience developing, building, and maintaining website function and content.
Experience using content management software (including WordPress and Drupal) and Google Analytics (basics required, advanced usage i.e. behaviour funnels considered an asset).
Experience with data and online security practices.
Ability to code, including strong knowledge of HTML.
SEO and PPC (including Google Adwords) experience and knowledge considered a strong asset.
Familiarity with Office 365 and Azure Active Directory.
Familiarity with organizational information management, particularly Dropbox for Business and Microsoft OneDrive for Business.
Familiarity with Google for Nonprofits (including google groups, single sign on, website backups, website sign-on, adwords, and analytics).
Familiarity with Asana.

Additional Requirements

Demonstrated commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Flexible and adaptable, able to respond quickly and effectively to changing circumstances.
Commitment to and demonstrated effectiveness working as part of a diverse and participatory team.
Ability to effectively communicate and work with team members in different locations.
Experience supporting virtual team environments.
Excellent organizational skills and the ability to effectively prioritize work and meet deadlines.
Strategic thinking, sound judgment and the ability to problem solve.
Sensitivity and a strong capacity for confidentiality, tact, discretion and diplomacy.
Excellent interpersonal skills.
Ecommerce experience.
Photography and/or video editing experience not necessary but considered an asset.
Willingness to travel and work outside of normal business hours, when necessary.
Eligible to work in Canada.

IT Responsibilities

Network administration, including switches and routers.
Troubleshoot issues (hardware or software) of IT products to ensure smooth day-to-day operations.
Install and configure desktops, laptops, and peripherals.
Install and configure software and applications.
Coordinate network security measures and protocols to ensure systems and data are protected and secure.
Support of Microsoft related technologies such as MS Outlook, by creating/removing new user accounts, setting up synching, assignment permissions, etc.
Review and recommend technical specifications for new desktop/laptop purchases, peripherals, as well as software and apps.
Support with the procurement of necessary devices and hardware.
Train new staff on the use of Action Canada’s IT systems and software.
Support staff with other tasks as needed.

Web Responsibilities

Administer website backend, including troubleshooting and managing relationships with third-party contractors as needed.
Support the development of additional website pages and templates.
Work with relevant staff and consultants in the development of new websites and campaign pages.
Maintain knowledge of best practices and backend functionality.
Review and recommend web-based tools, including website upgrades, plugins, and platforms to showcase our work.
Ensure the security of all web-based data and websites.
Support staff with other tasks as needed.

The Regional Diversity Roundtable (RDR) is an incorporated charitable, non-profit membership based organization. RDR is committed to building inclusion and diversity competence that results in the institutionalization of equity in the core values, structures, workforces, policies and services of the public and human services sectors in Peel Region.

RDR is governed by a 10 person volunteer Board of Directors that is elected at the Annual General Meeting in June. There are vacancies on the Board of Directors for a two-year term (renewable).

We are seeking dynamic, innovative, and collaborative individuals that reflect our Peel community and have a passion for diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice. Those with experience in governance, fundraising, public relations, accounting and finance are encouraged to apply. We welcome individuals across the non-profit, for profit and public sectors as well as community members from diverse Peel communities.

Commitment includes attending monthly two-hour board meetings and dedicating an additional two to three hours to contribute to a board committee and/or other board related volunteer work.

Interested individuals may submit a letter of interest with a CV outlining volunteer, community, and work experience to the attention of ED, Varsha Naik at chair@regionaldiversityroundtable.org, titled: “Application: Board Member, The Regional Diversity Roundtable.” Please submit your application by May 15, 2018 by 5:00 p.m.